Meaning & use
serpent
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Meanings
nouncountableliterary
A snake, especially a large or dangerous one, named in stories, poems and old texts rather than everyday talk.
Grammar: Countable: a serpent, two serpents. In ordinary speech people say snake instead.
Patterns
- a serpent coils
- a sea serpent
The knight faced a huge serpent that guarded the cave.
A serpent curled around the branch, watching the traveler below.
Legends of a sea serpent kept the fishermen away from the bay.
nouncountablefigurativeliterarydisapproving
A person or thing seen as treacherous, sly or tempting, in the way the snake in the Garden of Eden is described.
Grammar: Used figuratively, often with the or a: he was a serpent in her household.
Patterns
- a serpent in the garden
- the serpent of something
The villain proved a serpent, smiling while he plotted against the king.
In the story, the serpent whispers temptation into her ear.
He felt like a serpent in the house, carrying a secret that would destroy his friends' trust.
Word forms
| plural | serpents |
|---|
Common combinations
- sea serpent
- Sailors told tales of a sea serpent rising from the deep.
- coiled serpent
- A coiled serpent was carved into the stone doorway.
- serpent's tongue
- The poem compared his lies to a serpent's tongue.
- winged serpent
- The museum displays a winged serpent from Aztec art.
- serpent in the garden
- The new employee turned out to be the serpent in the garden of the office.
Synonyms and how they differ
- snake
- Snake is the ordinary everyday word, whereas serpent sounds grand, mythic or threatening.
- viper
- A viper is a specific venomous snake, though it is also used for a spiteful person; serpent is a general term.
- adder
- An adder is one particular kind of venomous snake found in Europe, while serpent does not name a species.
- dragon
- A dragon is a mythical fire-breathing creature, though some old stories use serpent for dragon-like monsters.
Word family
- serpentine adjective
- winding and twisting like a snake, as in a serpentine road
- serpentine noun
- a green mineral, sometimes used for decoration
- serpentinely adverb
- in a winding way, rare
Commonly confused: serpent or servant?
serpent vs servant
A servant is someone who works for another person in their home. Serpent is a snake, and the two sound somewhat alike.
Practice
In which sentence is serpent most natural?
Choose one answer.
Serpent suits poetic or mythic description, so the old poem fits. In plain everyday talk about real animals, people use the word snake, which makes the other options sound odd.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “serpent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.